Tractor-wheel



.L. K. ENEmcT'..

TRACTOR WHEEL.

APPLICATION EIL-EU NOV. 30.1917.

1 ,309,010. Patented July 8, 19,19,

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

L. K. BENEmcT.

' TRACTOR WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 30. 19H.

1,309,010. Patented July A8, 1919.

. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' and useful Improvements Wheels; and I do hereby' declarethe fol`lowing tofbe a full, clear, and exact description` of the' invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it apper. Atainsto make' and use the same.

This invention relates to tractor' wheelsf' and the primary object ofthe invention is UNITED IsTATEs PATENT oEEicE.

LOUIS K. BENEDICT, OFI-IASTINGS, FLORIDA.

TRACTOR-WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 8, 1919.

- Application led November 30` 1917. Serial No. 204,685.

To all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, Louis K. BENEDioT, a citizen of the United States,residing at" Hastings, in the' county of St. Johns and- Sftate ofFlorida, have invented certain new in Tractorto improve the constructionof the drive or bull wheels of tractors to increase thefv longevityofthe wheels and eliminate lost e' Vmotion in transmission` of power to'the wheel due to the wearing of parts of the' i wheel V'under usage. f

` Infthe majority of tractors now'in use,- the bull or drive ywheels arevdriven by a'l Y small'pinion meshing with a large gear car- 'Y ried bythe wheel. These gears are moreor less exposedto sand or grit whichvsoon destroys the vtrue outlinev and causes the"v whole load to becarried by vone tooth, the

result being that the erosion increases in Y geometric Aprogressionuntil the tractor is rendered incapable of performingl its function. V

It isl an object of this invention to over- "f come the inconveniencescontingent with the -driving of tractors in the above manner,`by

providing an annular internal gear carried by a .rotatable rim structurewhich gear meshes'with a plurality of gears that vare propelled froml asingle pinion positionedv at the exit of the drive' or bull wheels of'vthe tractor thereby materiallyfincreasingir the, tooth area of thewheel; and further fto provide a wheel in which all of the gears areinclosed within the shell including the rim structure to prevent dirt,sand or the like from accumulating' upon the gears and A'reference willbel had -to the :accompanyingl to retain oil within the wheels tolubricate the working parts thereof.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, thisinventiony consists'insuch novel features of construction, combination and arrangement ofparts as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail,

'thewheel construction. Referring more particularly 1 to thedrawdrawings wherein like characters designate like and-correspondingparts throughout the several views, and in which FigureV l is `afsectionthrough the improved tractor wheel.

Fig. 2 is a diametric section through the wheel. 1 l

Fig. 3 is anenlarged fragmentary section through apart yofthe wheelstructure.

e ylcfigfl is a' section on the line 1 -l of Fig.

l/lligf isv anenlarged detaily of a part of ings, l `designates the.axles/'of a tractor which fis inclosedby a casing 2.y The axle Vl maybe operativelyconnected in any suitable'mannerto the prime mover of atractor and it has a pinion 3 keyed thereon by an ordinary key 4, forrotating the pinion by therotation 'of the axle' spindle. l

.p The casing 2 has'a webflike extension 5 .formed integrallyy thereonwhichfextension lis circular in facelview and projects within the wheelstructure as clearlyshown in 2 of the drawings. lThe web 5 has aplurality "of barrels 6 formed lintegrally therewith and .projectingoutwardly therefrom," through .the 'outerY ends of which are y seated insockets 7 formed upon the inner face of'a plate' or web 8 which iscircular shaped iii-face view and lies parallel with the plate orweb 5.Bolts 9 extend through the barrel 6l and connect'lthe plates v5 and 8.The plates 5 .and 8 "have bearings 9 and 10 respectively formed thereonwhich rotatably supportshafts 11 upon which are mountedgears 12. f Thereare three of the gearsl2 and they niesh vwith the pinion 3 bearingsl oranalogous anti#frictionbearings 17 mounted therein.` 'The bearings '17are adjusted by the screwing'of caps 18` upon or voutwardly from theends 'ofthebearinfrs 9 and 10, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, whilethe bearings 16 are tensionedor regulated by .the adjustment of nuts 19which are screwl tlireadably mounted in recesses- 20 and 21 that areformed in thevhousing 2 and a block or collar structure 22 vwhich isattached to the plate 8 at the center of the same by means of bolts 23that extend through the casing flanges 24 formed upon the plate 8 andthe collar 22.

The rim 25 of the wheel has an outwardly extending flange 26 formedthereon to which is connected a plate 27. The plate 27 is preferablyformed of two pieces con- 4nected by bolts 28v that vextend through kzocape' of oil from the interior of the wheel structure about the casing2. Suitable bearing balls 33 arek carriedzby thecollar structure 31 andengage'the outer ends ofv theV stuffing lbox structure `32.

The plate l27v isprovided with openings '34 .formed therein inyalinement with `the bearing 9 carried by the plate or web 5 and theseopenings are closed by suitable plates 35.

inwardly .extending flange 36 lis formed uponxthefrim 25 and extends in-Y wardly toward the axis of the wheel at the outer sidef of the wheel,having a dished plate 37 attached thereto by means of bolts v38. Theplate 37 forms'the'closure for the outer side of the wheel structureandit, in connection with the plate 27 provides adust proofhousing forthegears and pinions which are mounted within the wheel structure.

The ring 15 which carries the internal.

gear 14 is keyed bymeans of keys 39 to the wheel rim 25 andit hasyannular tracks 40 formed upon'v its inner circumference and positionedupon each side of the gear teeth which form the internal gear 14, asclearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing. Suitable' rollers 41 engage thetracks 40 and also en-V gage tracks 42 which are formed upon theperipheries of the plates 5 and 8, by bendling the peripheries outwardlyaway from each other to provide the circular track portion.

.The rollers 41 are rotatably mounted upon pins 44 which pins have theirends riveted to rings 45 and 46 which extend about the innercircumference ofthe ring 15 upon each endV or side of the trackstructure 40. The

pins 44 are connected to the ring by upsetting the heads ofthe pins asclearly shown in F ig'. 5 of the drawings.

It often happens that a tractor-works for hoursuwith one wheel lowerthan the other,

...ivhchiworkina GQIldtOli-S mak@ it ,neeessary tohave strong end thrustbearings, and for this purpose annular inwardly extending bosses orenlargements 48 and 49 are formed upon theinnersurfaces of the plate 27and the flange '36 respectively, forming end thrust-bearings which workagainst the projecting flanges 5 and 8 formed upon stationary plates 5and 8. l

rl`he rim structure includinOF the wheel rim 25, tlie metalring 15,plates 27 and 37 rotates about the stationary portion of the wheelstructure which comprises the plates 5 and 8, upon the rollers 41 asbearings, and therefore Vthe bearing surface of the wheel is greatlyincreased over the ordinary sur-y face of a wheel which rotates upon thespindle that extends into the hub' of the wheel and consequently-thewear occasioned by the rotationl of the wheel is distributed over a muchgreater area andniaterially decreased,

`or practically eliminated by the provision of the rollers 41 andthetracks 4,0 and 42.

From theforegoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings fthe advantages of construction vand the method of operatingthe improved tractor wheel willbe readily apparent' to `those skilledinthe art tovwh'ich this inventionfapclaimed. f

Ilhat is claimed is:4 1., In atractor wheel,` a rigid internalstructure, a plurality of gears rotatablycarried-,bysaid rigidinternalstructure, a pinion'meshingwith said gears for rotating the gears, a rimstructure rotatably mounted about-said rigid structure, a ring attached`to the inner surface of said rim,said ring having its inner surfaceprovided withl ygear teeth and tracks spaced upon each side of said gearteeth, said first namedv gears lmeshing with saidl last named gear teethfor rotating said rim structure, and bearing rollersl carried by saidvrigid internal structure and engaging said tracks.

42. In a tractor wheel, a rigid internal structure, a plurality ofvgears rotatably car- Y ried vby saidrigid internal structure, a pinionmeshing with said gears for rotating the gears, a rim structurerotatably mounted about said rigid structure, a ringattached to 4theinner surface of said rim, said ring having its inner surface providedAwith gear teeth and tracks spaced upon each side of said gear teeth,said first named lgears meshing with said last iiarnedgear teeth,bearing rollerscarried' bycsaid; internal rigid Vstrueture and engagingsaid tracks, and plates attached to said rim structure for inclosing theinternal rigid structure therein.

8. In a tractor Wheel, a rigid internal structure, a plurality of gearsrotatably carried by said rigid internal structure, a pinion meshingwith said gears for rotating the gears, a rim structure rotatablymounted about said rigid structure, a ring attached to the inner surfaceof said rim, said ring having its inner surface provided With gear teethand tracks spaced upon each side of the gear teeth, said irst namedgears meshing with said last named gear teeth, bearing rollers carriedby said internal rigid structure and engaging said tracks, platesattached to said rim structure for inclosing the internal rigidstructure, and an annular inwardly extending portion formed upon theinner surface of one of said plates and Working against said stationaryinternal structure for forming an end thrust bearing.

4. In a tractor Wheel, a rigid internal structure, a rim structuremounted for rotation about said rigid internal structure, means carriedby rigid internal structure, for rotating said rim, plates attached tosaid rim structure and inclosing the internal rigid structure, andannular inwardly eX- tending bosses formed upon one of said platesadjacent its periphery and forming end thrust bearings for Workingagainst said internal rigid structure.

In testimony whereof I aiiiX my signature in presence of two Witnesses.k

` LOUIS K. BENEDICT.

Witnesses:

E. D. SMITHDEAL, CYRUs I-I. SMITHDEAL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

